An A-2 horsehide leather jacket as a present.

[valentina85]

You can always have the sleeves shortened later from any maker. I'd order something and tailor later. You'd be surprised how an inch of length wouldn't hurt. You should really contact Charles from HPA.

And happy Holidays to you and yours!

I know, but I'd like to avoid any alteration on the jacket. I contacted some professional tailors, but they refuse to sew leather garments.
It's very hard to find a professional leather maker in my area.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you too!

 

[valentina85]

Indeed, Peter De Brabander is the head of QMI.be. A couple guys I know owns his horse hide A-2 jackets, and they really look great for the price. They seem to be based on a Monarch contract. Accuracy wise, they're on par with G+B and the likes, from what I gather, but certainly not with Eastman/Aero/GW. They are really great value mid range A-2 repro and will certainly be one of your best options if your husband is not a stitch nazi :-D.

On the other hand, I've got my A-2 from Aero, with added sleeves and body length, and it's a real stunner. Dealing with them was really great. Both the jacket and my tales about how things went persuaded one of my friends to order an M442 from them, and he's most happy with it too.

Let me add my voice to the "lucky guy" part! My girlfriend admits the A-2 is really nicely done, looks great on me, but still calls it an "I-2", which, in french, is pronounced "Hideux", meaning hideous... She has amost certain disdain for vintage flight jackets!

Thanks for letting me know that the design of the De Brabander A-2 jacket is based on a Monarch contract!
The Monarch A-2 jacket is very nice, but its collar has too long tips.
That's way too old-fashioned for our liking.
Here is an example of a Monarch A-2 jacket I found on GW's website:
http://www.goodwearleather.com/pages/gwmonarcha2_images2.html

No, we aren't Nazis ) We just like military style jackets for their neat design, practicality, durability and functionality.